Notes in the Margin

'piles: see Benn, Tony'... Just occasionally, a book's index is a work of art in itself. Here, Jonathan Law finds some that offer a hilarious insight into 1970s Britain...
In a recent Dabbler Diary, Brit wrote interestingly about reactions to the passing of Tony Benn – that “indefatigable, articulate, admirable, unique ... Read More...

From Wordsworth to Auden, a surprising number of famous poems have been blighted - or sometimes, improved - by printing errors, as Jonathan Law reveals...
On a hazy day at the close of August Frank Key gave us his startling revisionist take on a well-known poem by Sylvia Plath:
In her mad poem ... Read More...

'Cake imagery in the writings of Sylvia Plath' is an underexplored literary topic, but if anyone can take it on, marginalia maestro Jonathan Law can...
On a damp afternoon in May, enraged cake-obsessive ‘ianf’ posted a plea for more serious treatment of his favourite subject:
You seem to be stuck forever in ... Read More...

This automated poetry-writing computer system is so good that most readers 'strongly prefer' its verses to those of Shakespeare. Or at any rate, that's what its creator claims. Jonathan Law investigates...
On a bone-cold day in March the Wikiworm brought us some much needed cheer by digging out “The Bookseller/Diagram Prize ... Read More...

Jonathan Law continues his look at John Ferrar Holms, the greatest writer never to have actually written anything...
Not much is known of the early life of John Ferrar Holms, the “genius” writer who in a career of some 15 years managed to write almost nothing at all. However, one episode ... Read More...

Anyone who has suffered writer's block might take consolation from the life of John Ferrar Holms. In the first of two posts, Jonathan Law introduces perhaps the least productive 'writer' in the English language...
On a murky day in June, Mark Pack wrote feelingly about the miseries of writers’ block – ... Read More...

From Ruskin's anti-capitalist rivers to the evil 'hydraulic empires' of the Soviet Union, Jonathan looks at the connection between water and social engineering...
THERE IS NO WEALTH BUT LIFE. Life including all its powers of love, of joy, of admiration.
So, in thumping block caps, John Ruskin threw down his challenge to ... Read More...

Jonathan Law reveals John Ruskin's mania for mucking about with water, and explains how it stood as an emblem for his wish to tame the “frantic monster” of unchecked capitalism...
Richard Nixon loved mashing potatoes; Gladstone had a passion for chopping down trees; and John Ruskin – in many ways a ... Read More...

In a recent Dabbler post, Nige sang the praises of the River Wandle. But as Jonathan Law explains, the river also had a profound significance for a great Victorian...
On a sultry morning in May, Nige celebrated the rebirth of the little River Wandle, now running fresh and clear through Sutton, ... Read More...

From pubs in trees to childhood dens, Jonathan now concludes his arboreal notes with a treehouse for the old...
In my last post, I mused on the fierce comfort that children take from their tree houses and brooded on what these knocked together and wholly gratuitous structures could mean to us, ... Read More...